June 17, 2009: The NHL is taking the good with the bad. On the heels of the news that Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals June 12 on NBC between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings averaged 8 million viewers, the most since Game 6 of the 1973 Stanley Cup finals between the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks, the league is finding that the situation with the Phoenix Coyotes is far from being resolved. On June 15, Bankruptcy Judge Redfield T. Baum issued a ruling siding with the NHL, stating that Jerry Moyes, the principal owner of the Coyotes, could not sell the team to Jim Balsillie by a June 29 deadline imposed by Balsillie for ratification of his $212.5 million purchase of the team because it did not allow enough time to resolve the situation. The Judge also rejected arguments that the league was violating antitrust law by prohibiting the sale and relocation of the club because they did not conform to its rules. Moyes and his legal team issued a statement, claiming that "the decision is subject to further consideration by the court if resubmitted" and that the Judge’s order "leaves open the possibility that the relocation issue will be addressed again at a later date. Now the most important thing for us to do is work towards an open and transparent sales process that will result in obtaining the most money for the team’s creditors." Balsillie said he would submit a new bid for the team, which he plans to relocate to Hamilton, Ontario, which would work in favor of Moyes. "The Judge also stressed that 'maximizing recovery for all of the creditors is the paramount concern of the court,' ” Moyes said in his statement. Back to Home Page